Spinach is a popular vegetable rich in vitamins and iron. It can be grown in the garden twice a year. Sowing time is spring or summer. The spinach is sown directly outdoors. The following note provides an overview of sowing, varieties, soil and bed neighbors.
When and how to sow spinach in the garden?
Spinach can be sown directly outdoors in spring (March to May) and summer (August to September). Maintain a distance of 20 cm between rows and 10 to 20 cm between plants. Spinach prefers a sunny to partially shaded location and deeply loosened soil with compost.
Sowing dates for summer and autumn spinach
Summer spinach is sown from March to May. It is harvested from April to June. From August to September it is time to sow the autumn spinach, which is harvested from the end of September to November.
variety selection
- for summer sowing: winter giants, Columbia F1, Mikado F1 hybrid, New Zealander
- for spring and summer sowing: Merlin, F1, Matador, Monnopa, Red Cardinal (red-stemmed), Junius F1
- Mildew-resistant varieties: Emilia F1, Merlin F1, Lazio
Consider space requirements
If the spinach is grown in rows, the distance between the rows is 20 cm. There should be about 10 to 20 cm of space between the plants.
With good bed neighbors in mixed culture
- Tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, cabbage, kohlrabi, radishes, radishes
- between runner beans
- Does not get along with chard, beets, beetroot, not even as a subsequent crop
As pre- and post-culture in the vegetable garden
Since spinach is sown in early spring, it is ideal as a pre-culture. Because of its short ripening time, it releases the space in the bed again from May. Vegetables sown between the spinach plants in late spring will find enough space to grow after the spinach harvest.
From August onwards, autumn spinach is grown as a secondary crop on harvested beds of early potatoes, strawberries or peas.
Prepare the floor
In the vegetable garden, spinach prefers a sunny to partially shaded location. Spinach is a deep rooter, so the soil should be loosened deeply. Compost is added to provide nutrients.
Additional fertilizer is not necessary. Chemical fertilizer would put additional strain on the spinach plant and increase the nitrate content unnecessarily.
The sowing
- sown in rows
- Place seeds one to three centimeters deep in the soil
- cover with soil and step down
- Keep soil evenly moist
- Separate young plants to about 20 cm
Tips & Tricks
If the temperatures are too cold when sowing in March and September, warming fleece (€34.00 on Amazon) that is placed over plants can help. At the same time, this prevents the plants from shooting in subsequent warmer temperatures.
